


Holiday Confessions

by nychus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: First Kiss, Gift Exchange, Holidays, Ignoct Secret Santa, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 06:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17136812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: Noctis hasn't been the best of friend to Ignis and he definitely hasn't been in the holiday spirit. He hopes he can remedy both with a thoughtful gift and a confession.





	Holiday Confessions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DenialSubroutine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DenialSubroutine/gifts).



> For this year's IgNoct Secret Santa. This is gifted to stuckyownsme on tumblr. I do hope you enjoy!

The cold winter weather had blanketed Insomnia for several weeks now. Snow had begun to build up on windowsills and balconies. The coming holidays had everyone cheerful and excited. Colorful lights bounced off of the multitude of ornaments. Snowflakes and crystals could be seen on every lamppost and shop window. Mistletoe was hung and people would wait for the object of their affection to come by before stepping underneath.

It was difficult to be unhappy with all the festivities, but one certain crown prince was making it look easy.

While at school, all the other students were laughing and smiling, asking each other what gifts they wanted for Crystal Days. Prompto was bouncing around taking pictures and was trying to elicit some response from Noctis by showing all the neat decorations he’d seen over the last few days.

“What’s with the mood, dude?” Prompto asked after he couldn’t get any sort of reaction out of Noctis. Really, who could look at a dog in a snowman outfit and not think it was the cutest thing ever.

“Nothing. I’m just, not in the holiday spirit.”

The mood lasted for several days and Prompto eventually gave up asking about it or what he could do to help.

Ignis had also noticed, the few times he was in Noctis’s presence. Noctis was more withdrawn than usual and when pressed for a holiday gift idea, all he got was “Anything.”

“Anything?” Ignis repeated as he drove them both to the Citadel.

“Yeah, anything. Whatever. I don’t care.”

The conversation was over and as soon as the car came to a halt in the parking lot, Noctis jumped out and headed towards his father’s chambers. It would be the first time in ages that Regis was able to carve out time for dinner with Noctis, yet Noctis wasn’t really looking forward to it.

As expected, dinner was a quiet affair. It usually was. Regis would try to ask questions about school or life and Noctis would dodge them as best he could. This evening, however, Noctis eventually found his voice.

“Dad, you know Ignis, right?”

“Ignis?” Regis questioned before feigning thinking hard. “Blonde fellow, likes photography and has an unhealthy love for chocobos?”

“Dad,” Noctis rolled his eyes.

“No, right. Tall fellow, dark hair, has the beginning of what will surely be an amazing tattoo?”

“Dad!”

Regis chuckled, “Yes, son, I know Ignis. What about him?”

Once asked, Noctis just kind of zoned out and wished that he hadn’t brought anything up.

“Are you two fighting?”

“Huh? What? How did you… I mean, no, not really.”

“Define ‘not really,’” Regis said, but Noctis didn’t say anything. “Son, I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.”

“Why do you think we’re fighting?” Noctis asked after several moments of staring at the food on his plate.

“He’s asking for more work and more training. He’s doing just about everything he can do to stay here. Once upon a time, he would do his work admirably, but he rarely asked for more. Instead he would ensure he could get out at a decent time so that he could get to your apartment.”

Noctis blinked. “You keep that close an eye on him?”

“No, but Cor, Clarus, Stupeo, and a few of the councilmen have said something about his habits. What has happened, Noctis? Has he done something to upset you? Or you him? I am here to help, even if it’s to be a sounding board to your frustrations.”

Noctis sighed and returned his gaze to his food. He didn’t know where to begin. How does one explain that the reason he’s mad is because someone had the nerve to give the one in question his number? And it was accepted with a smile! A smile and a long conversation that led to at least one date and several texts. How could Noctis be mad at Ignis for doing nothing wrong but going on a date?

“I like him, Dad,” Noctis’s mouth spilled before his brain could stop it.

“Ah,” was all Regis responded. Then after several quiet seconds, he added, “I can see where that is a problem.”

“A problem?”

Regis smiled kindly. “Yes, a problem.”

The next words that Noctis expected to hear was all about Ignis being a guy and his adviser and how it was beyond improper in a number of ways. He certainly did not expect what Regis actually said.

“Ignis has been in your life a long time. As children you were best friends and practically brothers. As you’ve aged your roles have shifted as you learn more about being prince and king and he learns how to advise you. There’s a power gap. There’s also the fact that Ignis exudes the personality and traits of someone much older than he is. He’s an overachiever. I imagine you feel inadequate compared to him, even if you shouldn’t. You see all that he’s accomplished and you think you’ll never be that good. You see him as an adult while you feel the child still in high school. Am I wrong?”

Noctis blinked. “Uh…I, uh, how…? I mean, no, you aren’t wrong, but…how?”

“I know a thing or two about this kind of thing. It’s the human condition, son.”

“So, what do I do?”

“Talk to him. I know that’s not the answer you want to hear, but it’s the only way to work past this.”

“But what do I say? How do I keep from screwing everything up?” Noctis asked. He could hear the desperation in his voice and he wanted his father to be able to tell him that everything would be okay no matter what.

“Just, say what’s in your heart. You may preface it with the acknowledgment that it’s okay if he doesn’t feel the same way and ask for him to give you time to work through things. Be honest and he will be understanding. This may not be something that fixes it self with one conversation, but it will never improve if you don’t start there.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Dad.”

~*~*~*~*~

It took Noctis much too long to work up the nerve to say anything to Ignis. He made a concerted effort to be nicer and things became a little better. It was still hard not to be bitter when he heard Ignis’s phone ding with a text from the guy he was dating and Ignis seemed to pick up on that particular trigger for a shift in Noctis’s mood.

When school was out for holiday break, Noctis spent an obscene amount of time wandering the stores of the antique district trying to find the perfect gift for Ignis. He wanted it to be something special, something that held meaning for them. He wanted it to be the courage he needed to admit his feelings and to be prepared for rejection. Of course, that’s not something one could actually use to describe when asked what he was looking for, so he’d wander aimlessly for hours, just hoping to find that perfect gift.

Eventually, he stumbled upon said perfect gift. It was an antique globe of the night sky. It showed all the major constellations and a few of the minor ones as well. It was several centuries old, worn, cracked, and barely moved on its axis anymore, but it was perfect. He knew that Ignis would yell at him for spending so much. Ignis always yelled when Noctis flaunted his wealth on him. But he was the only one that Noctis did that with. He deserved anything and everything and the prince would never be convinced otherwise.

He purchased the globe and had it packed carefully before calling someone to pick him up so that he wouldn’t have to walk with it home. The glaive that came to collect him was confused as to why it wasn’t Ignis that had been called, but understood quickly that this was a gift for the adviser and therefore a surprise.

~*~*~*~*~

It was tradition for Noctis and Ignis to get together before the end of the year ball to exchange gifts. They preferred to exchange in private and as Ignis was usually helping to get Noctis in some presentable state, that was the perfect time.

Noctis was extraordinarily nervous. He had this amazing gift for Ignis. One that Ignis was sure to love but also be annoyed with because he’ll guess the price was much higher than he felt worth. There was also the fact that Gladio had mentioned something about Ignis and the guy not being together anymore. Gladio had laughed at the dude when accused of stealing Ignis away.

“He accused me—ME—of stealing him away. Me! Iggy says they weren’t even official. They went on like three dates and texted a lot, but that was it. Dude was nuts, but I guess Iggy’s good looks has that effect on people,” Gladio told him.

Noctis silently agreed, Ignis definitely that effect on people.

Doing his best to finish getting dressed before Ignis arrived, he let out several expletives while trying to work out his tie only to have Ignis suddenly behind him, tutting.

“Swearing at it won’t make it tie correctly,” Ignis said, turning Noctis around so that he could expertly fix his tie. “There.”

“Thanks,” he muttered. “Do you want to exchange gifts now?”

“I wasn’t sure we’d be doing that,” Ignis said cooly, “but I did bring your gift, just in case.”

Definitely not off to a good start, but Noctis took the small package and unwrapped it. His heart sunk at the item revealed. It was a plastic or rubber fish that you could slingshot across a room. It looked like Ignis had just grabbed it while waiting in a checkout line.

“Every time I asked what you would like for Crystal Days, you told me ‘anything’ or ‘whatever’ or ‘I don’t care.’ Since you have always given thoughtful answers before, I decided your gift should be as thoughtful as your suggestions.”

He deserved that. “Yeah, I know. I know. Here’s yours.” He went around his bed to lift up the gift and bring back to where they were standing on the other side. Noctis refused to look up at Ignis as he put it on the bed and slid it over.

A few rips of paper later and Ignis was whispering, “Noct…”

“I know,” Noctis started before Ignis could say anything more. “I know you hate when I spend that kind of money on you, but it was too perfect. I’ve got a certificate of authenticity for it from the shop and I doublechecked with the appraisers here and they say it’s truly a globe from the early 500s. I just, I needed to find something that I knew you’d love. I’ve been such an ass to you lately and you’ve done nothing to deserve it. Nothing but being perfect you who gets noticed by other guys that are brave enough to do something about it.”

Even though he still refused to look over, Noctis thought he saw Ignis twitch out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s not fair to you to be angry because I’m too cowardly to say anything. And Dad’s right, it won’t get better until I say something to you.”

Ignis very quietly said, “Your Father?” and Noctis just barely heard him but didn’t acknowledge it.

“I guess I need to hear you reject me and then I won’t have that little glimmer of hope that maybe you’ll notice me. There’s no reason for you to. I’m nothing but a royal pain in the ass.” He finally looked up to the other teen in his room. “But please, just give me some time to work through it. I will. You’re too important to me to lose because I’m dumb enough to have a crush on the most perfect man on Eos. I will get through it, I will and….what?”

It took several attempts on Ignis’s part to cut Noctis off. The prince wasn’t sure how many times Ignis had said his name before it penetrated his train of thought and he stopped talking.

“Sorry,” Noctis muttered, looking down again.

To his surprise, Ignis placed a hand on his chin and tilted his face up so they could look each other in the eye.

“Are you quite done?” Ignis asked and Noctis picked up on the amusement in his voice. Yet another thing to be embarrassed about, but he nodded.

“Good.” Ignis then placed his hand in an inside pocket and pulled out an envelope. “This is your real Crystal Days present.”

Confused, Noctis took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a printout of a reservation for a cabin in one of the wildlife reserves in the northern part of Insomnia. It was for the upcoming weekend. After reading through it a few times, he looked up to Ignis for explanation.

“I was hoping you would be agreeable to spending the weekend in the reserve. I’ve reserved you a place on an ice fishing trip on Saturday. I thought you might like to try it out under the supervision of experts.”

Noctis smiled. “Yeah.”

“I also hoped you wouldn’t mind me going along as well. I wanted a chance to talk with you and figure out what I did and how I can fix it.”

“Ignis…” Noctis started, but he didn’t know where to go from there. Ignis was not at fault, he’d just said that!

“But now I think we should talk about something else. And,” Ignis blushed, “perhaps make use of the fact I could only book a one bedroom cabin?”

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in and once they did, Noctis grinned big. “Really?”

“Yes. Though I am a bit concerned with what your father said to you.”

“He didn’t disapprove, if that’s what you’re asking.” Still grinning, Noctis stood up and took Ignis’s hand. “Come on, we should get going if we’re going to make it to the ball on time.”

Ignis glanced at his watch, “We have plenty of time.”

“Not if I want to hit every single sprig of mistletoe from here to the ballroom.”

Ignis laughed and allowed Noctis to pull him through Citadel hallways until the first bit of mistletoe was found. Stopping underneath it, they stared at each other with nervous grins.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to properly kiss you underneath one of these?” Noctis asked.

With a wider smile, Ignis leaned in and said, “I have some idea.” Their first official kiss underneath the mistletoe. That was followed by several others and by the time they made it to the antechamber to the ballroom, both were a little red in the face with lips a bit kiss swollen. Regis was the only one that really noticed, and his response was a wink and a thumbs up, much to the embarrassment of both.


End file.
